Just like Super Mario World before it, Yoshi's Island is an absolute masterpiece of a platformer, with 50+ levels of rock-solid gameplay that'll keep you glued to your GBA for weeks. Each stage is intricately designed, with multiple paths, tons of secrets and a wide variety of enemies and obstacles in your way.The overall package is astoundingly beautiful to boot. YI is still the most visually stunning 2D game ever made. The trippy, colorful graphics add tons of atmosphere to the stages, making it that much more fun to explore every last nook of each area. The tension level is high, too—the first time you drop Baby Mario and hear him start wailing as you scramble to get him back before time runs out, you'll know exactly what I mean. The mini-games and various vehicles Yoshi can transform into are just icing on an already delicious cake. But the best part of this flawless conversion? They added new levels! To an old-school Yoshi fan, it's like a dream come true.

All in all this is just another bright and shining jewel on the Miyamoto crown of accomplishments! This often overlooked masterpiece will finely get the time in the lime light it deserves. People that own the GBA should not hesitate to buy this game, people who are fans of the Mario series need to get a hold of this game by any means necessary. This is truly a game that gamers live for!

Yoshi's Island has long been in the running for best platformer ever created, and having it on a portable system in such good form is truly amazing. Its twisted levels beg to be replayed again and again even if you aren't interested in getting that perfect 100%. Even if you thought you played the original to death, chances are you'll find reason enough to come back for more.

In order to complete the game, it is Yoshi’s task to protect Mario and save Luigi from the evil clutches of Koopa and return them to their rightful parents. Although the objective may seem simple, there’s a lot more to this title than simply keeping little baby Mario safe from the wizards. With six worlds to traverse and at least eight stages a piece, Yoshi has his hands full for the next few days as he tries to save little baby Mario and Luigi.

The invitation to write a review of Yoshi's Island is simultaneously heartwarming, because I enjoyed the game, but also unnerving. I've never played the original Yoshi's Island. Nor did I play Yoshi's Story. Nor do I truly remember when Yoshi came into being in the Mario world. There, I have said it. I welcome all flame e-mails to criticize that I haven't played forwards and backwards a hundred times one of the definitive canons in the annals of all gaming.

Of all the Super Mario Advance games to hit the Game Boy Advance, this game is the finest available. When I played through the original Super NES game back nearly a decade ago, I felt that Yoshi's Island was the best 2D platformer ever created. And after playing through the Game Boy Advance version, I still feel that way...the variety in what Yoshi can do and the diversity in level designs, not to mention the wonderful use of scaling and rotation for the level structures and the incorporation of a half-dozen clever mini-games makes Yoshi's Island the best damn platformer ever.

Its beautiful, inspired visuals and consistently fun and inventive gameplay make it a landmark achievement in one of gaming's most beloved genres.

If you were to play Yoshi's Island for the Game Boy Advance without knowing that it was originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995, you'd think that this handheld game was a cutting-edge, incredibly original title that represented the absolute best of what platformers can offer. Actually, you'd probably think that about the game anyway. Though Yoshi's Island is technically an old game, the GBA version--basically an exact port of the original--looks and feels as fresh and new as ever. The game's truly inspired visuals are matched only by its consistently fun gameplay, making Yoshi's Island not just one of the best action games for Nintendo's latest portable system, but also one of the best platformers for any console this year.

Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi’s Island is an almost impeccable port of one of the finest platform titles of all time. It’s easy to recommend due to its terrific level design, vibrant visuals and impressive level of content. It also offers a distinct variation in the Super Mario series, an entirely different kind of gameplay experience owed to the unique characteristics of Yoshi himself. The only minor issues are a result of the porting process, meaning that the experience isn’t quite as perfect as on Super Nintendo. It’s mighty close, however, and a memorable handheld platformer that should be experienced by all fans of Mario’s loveable sidekick.

Should I buy this game? Yes! Why? SMA3 is currently the best 2D-platform game available on GBA. But I already own the SNES version. Be glad, now you can compare. You'll now find graphic improvements, sound improvements and a sleep mode.

All things considered though, there's still no argument against buying this. Whether you played the original or not, Yoshi's Island is a timeless platform classic, and deserves to be enjoyed for the first or second time by all and sundry. The fact that it has more longevity than most games on major platforms at the moment - and a darn sight more than the previous two Mario Advance titles put together - should make it an obvious enough purchase. Few titles are this engaging. It's just a shame that Nintendo didn't have the time or inclination to reshape it properly for the portable hardware.

Overall, Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advance 3 is the best in the Mario Advance series yet. With its inventive platforming quirks, it’s sure to captivate audiences of all ages. You’ll grow to love Yoshi’s antics and hate Mario’s whining. Everything is done nicely despite the fact that the game is 7 years old. For my money, this is the best 2D Mario game ever created, but that’s just me; you will have to try it out for yourself.

The challenges in this game are always fun to beat, and it's clear from the outset that this title holds something very special. Fortunately, it never loses this edge, and you can enjoy every minute of it as we're sure many of you once did eight years ago.

And in the end, that's what matters the most. Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 is a genuinely fun game that will entertain people of all shapes and sizes for hours and hours. Completing all the levels with a score of 100 opens super hard "Secret" stages; beating the game opens even more. Nintendo, for whatever reason, also decided to include the original Mario Bros. that came with both previous Mario Advance games. There's a lot of playtime on this cart, and every second of it is pure bliss; it even manages to show up a majority of the new-fangled software that's hitting next-generation hardware. You won't find many games better than this.

Overall, Yoshi's Island is a fantastic piece of video gaming entertainment, and although it's an oldie, it's fair to assume that a lot of today's gamers may have missed out on it first time around. 2D enthusiasts should be stoked at getting something this cool on the GBA.

The bottom line is about this game is it’s a very fun very well designed game that adds a few new touches to the platform genre if you haven’t played it before. If you enjoy Mario World, (who doesn’t!) Pick this game up, it’s worth your 30 bucks and blast to play to boot!

The Super Mario Advance series started off with a bang by sporting Super Mario 2, a forgotten classic in my opinion, and had a fantastic follow-up that featured perhaps the greatest 2D Mario game of all time with Super Mario World. This third installment however, kind of threw me off, as I would have imagined that Super Mario 3 – without a doubt one of Miyamoto’s masterpieces – would have been the best choice. Instead, we get Yoshi’s Island, certainly a SNES classic, but not nearly the caliber of Super Mario 3.

In conclusion, if you are a fan of platformers, or of video games in general, there is no logical reason why you should not own this game either in its SNES incarnation or in this GBA one. It is a testament to what 2D platformers could have become if the 3D era hadn't begun shortly after its release and deserves a place in the collection of almost anybody who would call themselves a gamer.

As for replay, this game apparently shows a bit less than the first two Advance games. After the game is completed, you open up 6 GBA-exclusive "secret" levels, 1 for each world. Also, if you get 100 points in every stage of a world, you unlock that world’s "Extra" level, which is usually extremely difficult. Also, the usual "Mario Bros. Classic" sub-game returns, and is exactly the same as it was in its predecessors.

If there is a criticism to be made, it is only slight and resides mainly in the fact that the game relies perhaps a little too heavily on the restricting linearity of its storyline that channels you through the game, something that may antagonise those who prefer a more open-ended approach to in-game progress. But ultimately even the most experienced gamers won't fail to be delighted. Yoshi's Island on the GBA is tantamount to a beautiful symbiotic relationship. The necessity of adding a player to the mix effectively creates a crowd, but one that gets along beautifully.

And this is special. Very special. Quite possibly the greatest 2D platformer ever made, the pinnacle of a genre already bristling with an unfair proportion of incomparable masterpieces. The score reflects the fact that this is a re-release, but if you have not yet sampled the delights of Yoshi and his fabulous island, you can increase the score to the maximum, for it is simply that; Genre defining.

The original graphic styling has returned in all its crayon-style glory. Yoshi's transformations into helicopters, trains, submarines, and moles help maintain the entertainment and visual style of the game. The sound effects, while limited due to the GBA hardware, are enjoyable and quite faithful to the source. The only problem I noticed was a very rare slowdown caused by too many sprites on the screen. While it can be annoying when it happens, the occurrence is so sporadic that it's barely noticeable. Yoshi's Island holds its own among a long list of rehashes for the GBA. Despite the fact that it's only got six new levels, the gameplay is still fun and engaging. If you were a fan of Super Mario World (or Super Mario Advance 2), you'd do yourself a favor by picking up Yoshi's Island.

In the end, I enjoyed playing through Yoshi's Island for the most part, but after beating the game, I wouldn't pick it up again. It's ultimately too frustrating, and too few bonuses were included in the game to really make it worth my while. The only noted addition is the original Mario Brothers game (not the Super Mario Brothers game mind you), but I played it out on the first Super Mario Advance and got tired of it on the second one. This game is a must for all who missed it on the SNES, but it marks the end of the 2D Mario saga.